Gordal Sevillano olive tree variety, is grown mainly in Andalusia.
Within Andalusia, Sevilla is the province where the Gordal Sevillano olive tree has a greater implantation. There are important plantations of the variety of Olive Gordal in Córdoba and Huelva. Although in smaller quantities, isolated plantations and scattered specimens of Gordal Sevillana can be found in the rest of Spain.
Curiosities: Gordal is one of the varieties of table olives most valued by consumers. Outside our borders, the Gordal olive tree is also appreciated and there are plantations in United States (Gordal olives), Argentina, Israel, Italy and Chile.
Synonyms or names that the Gordal Sevillano olive variety receives
Gordal Sevillano olive tree is also known with the names Gordal, Bella di Spagna, Extra, Morcal of Limón, Sevillano and Injerta.
In Sands of San Pedro, it is known as “olive Injerta”, name given by its usual form of multiplication.
This variety is known in United States as “Sevillano“.
The variety of olive Gordal Sevillana is called Bella de España (Bella di Spagna) in Italy.
In Chile the Gordal olive is known by the name “Extra”.
There are other Olive varieties that receive the Gordal name in relation to their large size. These are the Gordal de Hellín and Gordal de Granada varieties, with characteristics other than Gordal Sevillana olives (larger size).
Even if they have the same name, significant differences are found in the olive size, production, yield, would beat, Tuberculosis resistance, Repilo, fly…
Gordal de Sevilla olive tree or Gordal Sevillano is low and alternate productivity. Gordal de Granada has a high and alternating production and Gordal de Hellín is a productive and constant variety.
Characteristics of the Gordal Olives
Gordal Sevillana olives, is an interesting olive variety for the production of table olives in Seville. With an area slightly higher than 10,000 hectares, Seville is the leading province in the spread of the variety.
Gordal Sevillano olive is only usable for table and pickled olives (Kimbos). With a poor olive oil yield and low stability oil, it is not a profitable variety for olive oil production.
Productivity: Gordal Sevillana is a variety of olives of low productivity and medium precocity.
Regularity of bearing: the olive Gordal Sevillano is low.
Flowering: Gordal Sevillano olive tree has medium flowering. It is self-sterile, with high ovarian abortion even with cross-pollination.
Vigor and bearing of the tree: Gordal Sevillana is medium vigor, erect port and medium density cup.
The vigor is high when planted on other rootstocks.
Plantation framework.
Leaf: the variety of Gordal Sevillana olive tree has a leaf of width medium, length long and elliptical-lanceolate form.
Diseases: the Gordal olive of Seville is not very resistant to the Colletotrichum sp in olives, tuberculosis and the attack of the olive fly. Sensitive to drought, plantations must have drip irrigation. It is resistant to Repilo, tolerant of winter cold and ambient humidity.
Because of its large size, it has a high preference for fly attacks, compared to other varieties such as Picual and Manzanilla Cacereña.
Multiplication: Of poor rooting capacity both by fogging and by staking (poor rooting). Therefore, the usual form of multiplication of the Gordal olive is by graft.
Gordal Sevillano Olives, morphological characteristics
Gordal olives stands out mainly for its enormous size, very attractive appearance and attractive to consumers. If you continue reading you will learn the rest of the characteristics of the Gordal Sevillana olive.
Maturation: the variety of Gordal Sevillana olive is of ripening early.
Size: The size of the Gordal olive is very large (12 grams ), much larger than Verdial olive (7 grams). Large olives are appreciated by consumers and can be sold at a good price.
Shape: The Gordal Sevillano olive is slightly asymmetrical, ovoidal.
Skin color: Gordal Sevillana, it is harvested with green color, if it is allowed to mature it reaches a blackish color.
Pulp: With a pulp/bone ratio high, the Gordal olive pulp is of inferior quality to other smaller olive varieties. The processed industrial must be very careful. Well, the Gordal Sevillano olives are hard to bone, sensitive to cooked (soda bath) and wiring (internal cavities may appear).
Peduncle: The peduncle of the Gordal olive in Seville is long and the olive does not have a nipple.
Performance: the olive Gordal Sevillana has a very low yield. Its plantation for oil production being disposable.
Collection: manual and delicate to avoid the appearance of defects.
Uses: the variety of Gordal olives Sevillana is only suitable for table olives.
Taste: Gordal Sevillana olive tree produces a oil of low quality. It is hardly produced from oil of this variety.
Properties: the Gordal olive stands out and is especially appraise for its size (very large). However, its flavor is lower compared to other varieties of green olives.
How to dress fat olives?
The first step to be able to dress the fat olives is to eliminate the bitterness of the olives.
We can do it by cooking (olives with soda) or simply sweeten olives with water.
How to remove bitterness from olives?
Kill olives with Sosa
To eliminate bitterness, we can use a solution with caustic soda and water.
1.- Prepare 30 grams of soda for every kilogram of olives.
2.- We dissolve the soda in water.
3.- We add to the solution more water and the olives to cover completely the fat olives.
4.- Every one or two hours we make a cut to the bone of the olive and check what the soda has penetrated.
5.- Once the soda has reached the bone of the olive (between 6 and 15 hours), we throw the water from the olives and renew it.
6.- We renew the water of the olives with clean water for several times a day.
7.- When the dirty water stops coming out (2-3 days), we will have the sweet olives prepared for dressing.
Warning: If we leave the olives for a long time in soda, they will become soft. Because of its very large size, the process of fat olives is complex.
Sweeten olives just by changing the water
Although slower, it is a 100% natural way to kill or sweeten olives.
1.- First we will have to carry out the laborious task of making cuts to the olives. We can make the cuts with a knife or faster if we use a machine or a table to cut olives. You can also crush the olives (male olives ), however, this technique is not suitable for Gordal olives, as it does not easily detach the pulp from the bone makes it difficult for olives are sweetened.
2.- Finished the laborious process of cracking, we put the olives in water.
3.- We change the water every 12 hours for 10 days.
4.- After the 10 days, we test the olives to verify that they have been sweetened enough and leave them to our liking.
5.- Once sweetened enough, we can start dressing our fat olives.
Warning: This process better preserves the flavor of fat olives, however, if the water is not changed periodically, the olives will remain excessively bitter after 10 days.
Tricks: How to keep olives and not make them soft?
1.- In case of traveling and unable to change the water to the olives we will have to add salt to keep the olives in brine (add and dissolve salt until a fresh egg float in the water).
2.- The olives oxidize in contact with the air, to solve this, we can put a plate or an open plastic bag on the olives. In this way we prevent olives from being above the water level and oxidize.
Several ways of dressing fat olives.
We can dress the fat olives using different ingredients to obtain different types of flavors.
Depending on whether we have cracked the olives or not, the seasoning will be taken more or less quickly.
Dressing olives with salt, garlic, oregano, thyme and vinegar.
It is one of the most traditional flavors.
1.- We take 1 kilogram of olives previously sweetened.
2.- We place them in a container with water that covers them.
3.- Add salt until we notice the salty water.
4.- We crush 5 cloves of garlic and add them to the bowl.
5.- We add two copious pinches of thyme and two others from oregano.
6.- Finally we add a stream of vinegar (acts as a preservative and flavor enhancer).
7.- After 1 or 2 days the dressing will be completely taken and we can enjoy some excellent fat olives.
Fat olives, season with paprika, garlic, salt, orange and oil.
It is the recipe of one of my grandmothers.
1.- Set aside 1 kg of sweetened olives.
2.- We introduce the olives in a jar / container and cover them with water.
3.- We add salt to the water, until it is salty.
4.- Chop 4 cloves of garlic and add them to the olives.
5.- We split an orange in half, reserve two slices and squeeze the leftover orange
6.- We add the orange juice next to the two slices (with peel).
7.- We add a teaspoon of paprika.
8.- Let’s remove the olives well.
9- Finally, we add a good jet of oil so that the fat olives are kept in perfect condition.
Recommended reading
5 different recipes for dressing olives
How many kilos of olives does an olive produce?
Warning
We have translated the information on our website from Spanish to English. Note that some words may have seen their meaning altered during their translation.